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Ahmaud Arbery judge slams his own trial for 'intentional discrimination': Just ONE black juror will sit on trial for three men accused of hunting down and murdering jogger

  The judge in the racially-charged case of Ahmaud Arbery's death slammed his own trial for 'intentional discrimination' after j...

 The judge in the racially-charged case of Ahmaud Arbery's death slammed his own trial for 'intentional discrimination' after just one black juror was picked to sit on the 12-person jury to decide the fate of three white men accused of hunting down and murdering the black jogger. 

Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley expressed his concern over the racial makeup of the jury after eight other black potential jurors were booted following objections from defense lawyers.

'This court has found there appears to be intentional discrimination in the panel,' Walmsley said.

However, Walmsley said he had limited authority to intervene in jury selection - after the final 12 were narrowed from a pool of 48  over the last two weeks - because the defense attorneys were able to give nonracial reasons for their decisions to strike the potential black jurors from the panel. 

In Brunswick, Georgia, where Arbery was killed and the trial is being held, black people account for nearly 55 percent of the population of 16,000 while white people make up 40 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. 

But in Glynn County, which encompasses Brunswick, black people account for nearly 27 percent of the population of 85,000, with 69 percent identifying as white, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. 

The judge said 25 percent of the pool from which the final jury was chosen was black.  

Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was killed on February 23, 2020, while he was out for a run in his south Georgia neighborhood

Ahmaud Arbery, 25, was killed on February 23, 2020, while he was out for a run in his south Georgia neighborhood

Travis McMichael (left), his father Gregory McMichael (center) and their friend William 'Roddie' Bryan (right) have all been charged with federal hate crimes in the death of Ahmaud Arbery

Travis McMichael (left), his father Gregory McMichael (center) and their friend William 'Roddie' Bryan (right) have all been charged with federal hate crimes in the death of Ahmaud Arbery

Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley narrowed the pool of 1,000 to 12 mainly white jurors except one. He agreed with prosecutors that 'there appears to be intentional discrimination'

Superior Court Judge Timothy Walmsley narrowed the pool of 1,000 to 12 mainly white jurors except one. He agreed with prosecutors that 'there appears to be intentional discrimination'

Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski challenged the defense attorneys' decision to strike eight specific black jurors, arguing they were cut from the panel because of their race.

Laura Hogue, an attorney for Greg McMichael, denied that the black panelists' race was considered in decisions to strike them from the jury pool.

'We have a very clear selection process within the defense team, and the issue of race is not one of the factors,' Hogue said. 'I can give you a race neutral reason for any one of these.'

She noted one such juror, identified in court as No. 218, had written on her juror questionnaire that Arbery was shot 'due to his color' and told attorneys during questioning that she felt the defendants were guilty.

Dunikoski noted that many prospective jurors questioned in open court expressed strong opinions about the case, but all who remained in the pool from which the 12 jurors emerged said they could be impartial and base a verdict solely on the trial evidence.

'The defense has not made a case as to why this juror and her opinions are any different than anyone else, black or white,' Dunikoski said of No. 218. 'She said the same thing almost every other juror said. So many had opinions. And they said they could put them aside.' 

In issuing his decision not to change the makeup of the jury, Walmsley said defense attorneys 'have been able to explain to the court why besides race those individuals were struck from the panel.'

Arbery aunt isn't surprised at only one black juror at murder trial
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Meanwhile, one of the defense lawyers raised his concerns that there aren't enough 'Bubbas or Joe six-packs' on the final panel of 12 jurors.

The comments were made by Kevin Gough, the defense attorney representing William Bryan, who is facing a murder charge for filming the shooting death of Arbery in February 2020.

Gough expressed his skepticism over the now-decided pool of jurors, which wasn't determined at the time of his interview with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, saying it lacked white men over 40 without a four-year bachelor's degree. 

'We want a diverse jury,' he said. 'But we're missing a segment of what would normally be here.'  

The slaying dominated news coverage and social media feeds leading court officials to take extraordinary steps in hopes of seating an impartial jury. 

The court mailed 1,000 jury duty notices, and nearly 200 people were questioned by the judge and attorneys at the courthouse during jury selection. 


Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski probes questions on Wednesday, October 27, during the jury selection in the McMichaels and Bryan trial in Glynn County Superior Court in Brunswick, Georgia

Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski probes questions on Wednesday, October 27, during the jury selection in the McMichaels and Bryan trial in Glynn County Superior Court in Brunswick, Georgia

Laura Hogue, an attorney for Greg McMichael, (pictured Wednesday, October 27) denied that the black panelists' race was considered in decisions to strike them from the jury pool: 'I can give you a race neutral reason for any one of these'

Laura Hogue, an attorney for Greg McMichael, (pictured Wednesday, October 27) denied that the black panelists' race was considered in decisions to strike them from the jury pool: 'I can give you a race neutral reason for any one of these'

Defense attorney Kevin Gough, representing William Bryan, (pictured Wednesday, October 27) was concerned there weren't enough 'Bubbas or Joe six-packs', or college-educated white men over 40, in the group of potential jurors

Defense attorney Kevin Gough, representing William Bryan, (pictured Wednesday, October 27) was concerned there weren't enough 'Bubbas or Joe six-packs', or college-educated white men over 40, in the group of potential jurors

William 'Roddie' Bryan attends the jury selection on Wednesday, October 27 after a particularly difficult process due to the high-profile case centered around race

William 'Roddie' Bryan attends the jury selection on Wednesday, October 27 after a particularly difficult process due to the high-profile case centered around race

Travis McMichael (right) and his attorney Robert Rubin (left) attend the jury selection in his trial together on Wednesday, October 27

Travis McMichael (right) and his attorney Robert Rubin (left) attend the jury selection in his trial together on Wednesday, October 27

Greg McMichael (pictured on Wednesday, October 27) his son, and neighbor face murder, aggravated assault and false imprisonment charges in connection to Arbery's death

Greg McMichael (pictured on Wednesday, October 27) his son, and neighbor face murder, aggravated assault and false imprisonment charges in connection to Arbery's death

Before a final jury is seated, attorneys in a criminal case get to take turns eliminating a significant number of prospective jurors from the final pool, for virtually any reason. The final process of elimination consisted of a bailiff passing a list of the potential jurors back and forth between the prosecutors and the three defense teams. Lawyers used the list to silently choose people to strike from the jury.  

On February 23, 2020, Greg McMichael and his adult son, Travis McMichael, armed themselves and pursued Arbery in a pickup truck when they spotted him jogging after having entered a home under construction in their neighborhood, about 70 miles south of Savannah. 

A neighbor, William 'Roddie' Bryan,' joined the chase in his own truck and took cellphone video of the fatal encounter. Video shows the McMichaels stop their truck in front of Arbery as Travis McMichael aims his gun at the young black man.  

In the footage, Arbery tries to run around the truck before getting into a physical altercation with Travis McMichael and being shot three times. 

Defense attorneys say the McMichaels and Bryan committed no crimes. They say Arbery had been recorded by security cameras inside the home that was under construction and they suspected him of stealing. Greg McMichael told police his son opened fire in self-defense after Arbery attacked with his fists and grappled for Travis McMichael's shotgun.

Investigators have said Arbery was unarmed and there's no evidence he had stolen anything. 

Graphic moment Ahmaud Arbery is shot dead while jogging
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Arbery was chased by the armed  McMichaels as he was jogging in his neighborhood on February 23, 2020

Arbery was chased by the armed  McMichaels as he was jogging in his neighborhood on February 23, 2020 

Arbery, in a white T-shirt, is confronted by Travis McMichael, who holds a shotgun

Arbery, in a white T-shirt, is confronted by Travis McMichael, who holds a shotgun

No one was charged in Arbery's death until more than two months later, when the video of the shooting leaked online. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation took over the case from local police and soon arrested all three men on nine charges, which include malice murder, four counts of felony murder, two counts of aggravated assault, false imprisonment, and criminal attempt to commit false imprisonment.

Arbery's death became part of the broader reckoning on racial injustice in the criminal legal system and across the country after a string of fatal encounters between black people and police continued to make national headlines— George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Rayshard Brooks, among others. 

The judge said the jury, along with four alternates, will be seated and sworn in Friday, when opening statements in the trial are expected.

Arbery's death became part of the broader reckoning on racial injustice after a string of fatal encounters between black people and police continued to make national headlines

Arbery's death became part of the broader reckoning on racial injustice after a string of fatal encounters between black people and police continued to make national headlines

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who has worked with the Arbery, Floyd, and Taylor families, responded to the jury selection in the McMichaels and Bryan trial: 'After being hunted down, cornered, and shot for being a Black man in a white Georgia neighborhood, Ahmaud Arbery is again denied justice. 

'His killers' fate will be decided by a nearly all-white jury after defense attorneys denied eight potential Black jurors. Even the judge acknowledged 'there appears to be intentional discrimination in the panel.'

'A jury should reflect the community. Brunswick is 55% Black, so it's outrageous that Black jurors were intentionally excluded to create such an imbalanced jury in a cynical effort to help these cold-blooded killers escape justice.'

Arbey's family has also commented on the 'injustice' of the jury selection. 

His aunt, Thea Brooks, said: 'I wasn't surprised. That's just some of what we've already been facing in this case. Just another of the injustices that we see here in Glynn County. Not just with this case, but with many. So it's just another part of what we face every day.'

Arbery's mother, Wanda Cooper-Jones, told reporters she found the selection: 'devastating.' But she said: 'I'm very confident that they'll make the right decision after seeing all the evidence.'

Her attorney, S. Lee Merritt, said he remains confident the trial will end in a conviction, despite the his belief the defense lawyers had: 'created a jury that was more favorable for their defendants, an almost entirely white jury.'

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